Q: I was driving the family to breakfast. A group of political activists were on the road and we were in the next lane. They were honking their horns– blaring them is more like it — incessantly, rather than mentioning the “cause” they were supporting. This was on a Sunday morning, near a neighborhood, and it was very noisy, lasting at least several minutes. Is that legal?
B.K., Lawndale
A: Horn honking comes in a variety of sizes and shapes: You might honk if someone is stopped at a green light, and not going forward; or honk to make sure that a person does not back out of their driveway as you drive by; or you honk to let a friend know you are outside, waiting; or perhaps you are just married and there is some brief, cheerful honking.
In a recently reported case, however, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that honking is not a First Amendment-protected activity. In that matter, a driver repeatedly honked her horn while driving past protesters and was issued a ticket for violating state law against misuse of car horns. The statute on point — Vehicle Code Section 27001(a) and (b) — prohibits utilizing a car horn except “when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation” or when used “as a theft alarm system.” But there is an energetic dissent, which suggests the ruling is a form of censorship, though the majority rejected the horn honker’s position about the First Amendment. One reason involved the court’s view that the car horn is a protective device, not a form of political expression.
Q: If I have an emergency situation and I have to get someone to the hospital, can I use a siren? I have a device that makes a similar sound. And if I’m racing to get to the emergency room because I think it’s life and death, is that going to avoid a ticket for speeding?
G.N., Palos Verdes
A: California Vehicle Code Section 27002 sets forth: “No vehicle, except an authorized emergency vehicle, shall be equipped with, nor shall any…
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